MLKCB Announcements

TODAY, Saturday 2/18 at 2:00pm!!!

Why We Lead: A Community Conversation with Leaders of Color

The
Tompkins County Public Library will celebrate Black History Month with
“Why We Lead,” a community conversation featuring City of Ithaca Mayor
Svante Myrick, Aloja Airewele, Marcia Fort and Millicent Clarke-Maynard,
Saturday, February 18 at 2:00 PM in the Ezra Cornell Reading Room.

Facilitated
by Eric Acree, director of Cornell University’s Africana Library, “Why
We Lead,” will explore what it means to be a community leader and offer
an informal and interactive discussion on the people, events and
personal circumstances that lead Myrick, Airewele, Fort and
Clarke-Maynard to pursue careers in public service.

Each
of the featured participants brings a unique perspective on leadership
based on their upbringings and professional achievements:

City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick--Raised
in rural Earlville, NY by his single mother and grandparents, Myrick,
24, became Ithaca’s youngest mayor and the City’s first mayor of
African-American heritage in 2012. A graduate of Cornell University,
Myrick’s foray into public service began at age 20 when he was elected
to Ithaca’s Common Council.

Aloja Airewele--Born
and raised in Nigeria, Airewele is a trained physician and worked in
family medicine before immigrating with his family to the United States
in 1997. He currently serves as a case manager for the American Red
Cross and works for Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton. He also serves as
vice president of the Library’s Board of Trustees.

Marcia Fort—An
Ithaca native, Fort is a much-heralded advocate for local youth. As
director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, she has touched and
shaped the lives of countless young people. Fort also graciously offers
her time and experience to the boards of several local organizations.

Millicent Clarke-Maynard—A
veteran educator with the Ithaca City School District, Clarke-Maynard
currently teaches at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School. Maynard is a
New York African Studies Association Distinguished Teacher Award
winner. She dedicates much of her time to organizations supporting the
academic and cultural development of young people and has served on the
board of the Southside Community Center and the Tompkins County Human
Rights Commission.

This
program is free and open to the public and is being sponsored by TCPL,
the MLK Community Build and Cornell University’s Africana Library.
Refreshments will be available.

Here is the video of this evening's Mayoral Candidate Forum.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to a few unfortunate technical issues, video recording was started as the candidates were in the middle of their opening statements. Also, the sound was not captured during the first 3:49 of recording.

TOMORROW, Wednesday 10/19 at 6:00pm!!!

Ithaca Mayoral Race

Candidates Forum

Candidates vying for the hotly contested City of Ithaca Mayor’s position will have an opportunity to share their platforms with the public Wednesday, October 19 as the Tompkins County Public Library, the Tompkins County League of Women Voters, The Ithaca Journal and the MLK Community Build host a Candidates Forum from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the Library’s BorgWarner Community Room.

The MLK Community Build would like to thank the Multicultural Resource Center for honoring our founders with the 2011 Rere Sojourner Hassett Award, presented to us at the GIAC (Greater Ithaca Activities Center) Annual Meeting on May 25th, 2011.

Though not an anniversary to be celebrated, it is an opportune time for
reflection on Dr. King's life and legacy, on the state of our
communities and their various "isms," and on ourselves and our
experiences. Such reflection is often deeply personal and private, but
if we were all to share our thoughts and experiences publicly, just
imagine the powerful educational, unifying, healing effects.

That's why today we are announcing the arrival of the MLK Community Build's "Community Blog!"

The MLK Community Build wants to foster dialogue and expression about
equality and social justice topics among the entire Ithaca/Tompkins
County community and beyond. This blog was created to help achieve that
goal and will eventually become a rich collection of perspectives,
experiences, and creativity which showcases the true character of our
community, local and beyond.

ANYONE can contribute, no matter who you are or where you live.

Please submit your original content (text, video, images, audio, etc.)
pertaining to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his writings - in particular,
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community, or anything else that may
be related/connected to equality and social justice to us at
mlkbuild@gmail.com.

Please ensure that your contribution is respectful and appropriate for audiences of all ages.

Include your name and any other information about yourself (e.g. your
bio, contact info., etc.) with your submission. If you wish to remain
anonymous, please give us some contextual info. (e.g. age, gender,
racial/ethnic identity, etc.).

Please allow us between 1-5 days to review your blog and post it. We
reserve the right to censor sections of content (and in extreme cases,
reject entire blogs) which we find disrespectful and/or inappropriate.

As we reflect on the 43rd anniversary of a historical tragedy, let's
honor Dr. King by continuing his work to achieve a "beloved community."